Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barcelona and Cairo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cairo: $643 a month against $2,405 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index
31

Cost of Living Index in Cairo
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Cairo Living Index

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Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,405

/mo nomad

Cairo

🇪🇬 Egypt

$643

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Barcelona and in Cairo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Barcelona and in Cairo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,405 in Barcelona versus $643 in Cairo.

Barcelona $2,405
Cairo $643

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,477 in Barcelona versus $1,037 in Cairo.

Barcelona $3,477
Cairo $1,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,550 in Barcelona versus $1,431 in Cairo.

Barcelona $4,550
Cairo $1,431

Living in Barcelona is roughly 274% more expensive than in Cairo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Barcelona is 79% above, Cairo is 52% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.98 €16.05

$4.69 E£245

283.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.4 €60.2

$28.49 E£1,491

136.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.37 €11.93

$6.03 E£315

121.72%

Cappuccino

$3.34 €2.98

$1.81 E£94.7

84.53%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 €2.64

$0.35 E£18.18

742.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 €1.69

$0.15 E£7.95

1166.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.88 €3.46

$1.45 E£76.0

167.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.57 €4.08

$2.24 E£117

104.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.27 €1.13

$0.97 E£50.7

30.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.96 €1.75

$0.73 E£37.96

168.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.75 €1.56

$0.77 E£40.24

127.27%

Eggs

$4.89 €4.36

$1.17 E£61.2

317.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.47 €15.59

$4.32 E£226

304.40%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.06 €8.09

$5.07 E£265

78.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.18 €18.01

$8.92 E£467

126.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 €2.75

$1.83 E£95.8

68.31%

Banana (1kg)

$2.03 €1.81

$0.75 E£39.07

170.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.60 €2.32

$0.57 E£29.78

356.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.71 €2.42

$0.51 E£26.62

431.37%

Potato (1kg)

$2.15 €1.92

$0.38 E£20.05

465.79%

Onion (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$0.42 E£21.88

426.19%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.54 €1.38

$0.35 E£18.43

340.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 €0.83

$0.24 E£12.57

287.50%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.09 €6.32

$1.99 E£104

256.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.63 €6.81

$7.48 E£391

2.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.52 E£79.4

-1.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.73 €2.43

$2.13 E£112

28.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 €2.63

$0.33 E£17.10

793.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.91 €23.13

$8.66 E£453

199.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.13 €2.80

$0.37 E£19.27

745.95%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.45 €1.29

$0.20 E£10.65

625.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.17 €30.49

$1.49 E£77.8

2193.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.79 €1.60

$0.46 E£23.94

289.13%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.7K €31.0K

$32.6K E£1.7M

6.31%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$30.3K €27.0K

$28.4K E£1.5M

6.69%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$181 €161

$27.54 E£1,441

556.06%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.56 €12.10

$8.27 E£432

63.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.12 €31.34

$14.05 E£735

149.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.2 €47.44

$28.27 E£1,479

88.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.05 €14.33

$6.70 E£350

139.55%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 €10.14

$4.40 E£230

158.41%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$939 €838

$121 E£6,356

672.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.5K €14.7K

$3,619 E£189.3K

356.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.2 €78.7

$40.16 E£2,101

119.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.77 €35.49

$49.61 E£2,596

-19.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €92.3

$115 E£6,033

-10.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$119 €107

$60.6 E£3,170

97.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,695 €1,513

$220 E£11.5K

670.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,301 €1,161

$194 E£10.2K

569.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,576 €2,299

$514 E£26.9K

401.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,941 €1,732

$334 E£17.5K

481.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,470 €6,666

$806 E£42.2K

826.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,195 €4,636

$513 E£26.9K

912.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,299 €2,052

$200 E£10.5K

1048.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.28

16.21

-79.77%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Barcelona: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cairo: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Barcelona

$1.3K 54%

Cairo

$194 30.1% 85.1% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Barcelona

$325 13.5%

Cairo

$141 21.9% 56.5% $184

Eating Out

Barcelona

$272 11.3%

Cairo

$91 14.1% 66.5% $181

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barcelona

$229 9.5%

Cairo

$50 7.7% 78.3% $180

Clothing & Footwear

Barcelona

$158 6.6%

Cairo

$120 18.6% 24.3% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Barcelona

$76 3.2%

Cairo

$37 5.8% 51.2% $39

Getting Around

Barcelona

$48 2%

Cairo

$11 1.8% 76.4% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,695 in Barcelona and $220 in Cairo. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 1049% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $67.0 in Barcelona vs $28.00 in Cairo for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $325 vs $141 per month, with Cairo cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🇪🇬 Cairo

🕒 Local time

03:51 3:51 AM

04:51 4:51 AM

1 h ahead of Barcelona

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,660,122

9,120,350 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.68 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Barcelona Cairo 2,890 km ≈ 4 h nonstop flight

From you

Barcelona
Cairo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Barcelona vs Cairo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Barcelona and Cairo differ by about 274% in total monthly costs ($2,405 vs $643 including rent). Cairo is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 1049% higher in Barcelona, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,695 in Barcelona versus $220 in Cairo. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $939 in Barcelona versus $121 in Cairo. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 130% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $643 in Cairo versus $2,405 in Barcelona, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Cairo but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Cairo the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Barcelona and Cairo are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cairo gentler on the wallet – expenses run 274% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.